[X] took his luggage and went inside, it's something worth an investigation.

A man doesn't buy a haunted train ticket and NOT get on the first haunted train he sees!

[X] took his luggage and went inside, it's something worth an investigation.

20 minutes adventure.

[X] stood back as the doors closed and choose to wait for his own train.

>>213485
> There may be a choice midway through the next part, so I'll wait until I've written up to that to post this to Ao3.

You know... It just occurred to me that making Mamizou have a nervous fit trying to find Marisa and get her back home may be a bad idea...

>>213489
'Cause the one other time an immaterial child managed to drive a maternal figure to a mental breakdown...

Shinki half-dragged Alice back home, her child looking lost and despondent. She continued to stare at her Grimoire as though she had never seen a book before. Eventually, she managed to get Alice home, setting her down on the sofa.

“Alice, dear?” Shinki asked, kneeling down so that she was at eye level with Alice. Despite that, her girl didn’t even seem to hear her, just continuing to stare at her Grimoire.

“Alice.” Shinki said firmly, using her hands to make Alice meet her gaze.

“I lost. Even with everything I did… That girl said I wasn’t creative enough. But how?! I spent so long creating new spells.. Was it all for nothing?” Alice asked, her eyes becoming watery.

“You got stronger, yes. But that girl got stronger too. Much stronger. Did you see what she did at the end there?”

“She just jumped through all of my attacks. She was so limber, so quick, it was like she didn’t weigh anything at all. She just jumped… and the next thing I knew she was hammering me with that stick of hers.”

Shinki nodded. “Yes. She seems to have awakened an extremely powerful defensive ability. Against something like that, even the most powerful offense will falter. Alice. With the power of your Grimoire, you are probably the most powerful person in Makai save for Byakuren. But this world is a much bigger place than just Makai. I won’t pretend that sheer power isn’t important. But it can’t be the only thing you rely on.”

“I see.” Alice said simply. She gently pulled Shinki’s hands away from her. “Yes, I understand, mother. Rather than sheer magical strength, I’ll be precise. Like a scalpel, not a hammer.” Alice still spoke more to herself than to Shinki.

“Strength and skill both have their place in a fight. You need to have both, and the adaptability to change your approach no matter what happens.” Shinki clarified.

“No, mother. All the strength in the world was nothing in the face of somebody who can just negate everything I can do. I thought improving my output was what I needed to have the strength do impose my own will on this world. But maybe… maybe I can’t do it. Maybe I’m not cut out to fight amongst the

Happy New Year everyone(even if it's a bit late) and thanks for your patience!

Happy new year, and thank you for the updates!

>>213476
Good point, if there's anything you don't have a shortage of when Sakuya's around, it's time.

[X] Scenic Route

[X] Scenic Route

Scenic Route

X] Aya has no idea you’re there. Just knock her into the middle of the meeting.

Happy New Year. Kick the nosy tengu. Have an old meme.

>>213352
That would be pretty crazy. My first thought was that if it were so, then wouldn't Ran find it harder to rebel right now, when Greg is unconscious and has his magic sealed? I guess the gap in the shikigami ritual wouldn't heal immediately...

Still, I'm minded to think Greg's attitude is the result of a desire for atonement, mostly because the pain absorption thing seems to be fairly new, and not something Ran(or most other kitsune) could do either. Yukari might have known, but she very well might not have known at the time she posed as Maribel.

Announcing it here so everyone's aware: I finally got around to creating a snippets thread, for both canon shorts and omakes. It remains to see how active it'll be, but we're starting off with a little scene in the SDM that is in fact canon:

https://www.thp.moe/shorts/res/3040.html

New crackpot theory: Greg is a Lunarian clone of Ran’s child that was sent to earth without memories as a test and subsequently abandoned for “results being impure” after he met Yukari as Maribel.

The winds of Heaven nipped at the Imugi’s skin as he ascended far above the stars. Far beyond any mortal eyes, he peered below at the lands of Gensokyo. Even under the veil of night did it shine a warm light, announcing to the world that life laid upon those grounds. Short as his visit was, he would at least commit the sight he was granted to memory. As time flows, would the vision he was seeing dim under brighter, more colorful recollections? Would everything fade deeper into the confines of his own consciousness? Even the vivid suffering, a cardinal moment in the Imugi’s grand life, would inevitably scar—like a wound he hid underneath his garments.

The Imugi approached Heaven’s domain. Its gatekeeper, the Great Dragon of Water, stood at its lip, idly gazing down at the mortal realm. In a slow, deliberate turn of the head, it focused its gaze straight at the lesser Dragon.

“You are back,” it announced, voice rumbling the clouds. “Have you found what you were looking for?”

“Hong Seongryo is no more. By your grace, I won’t impose any longer.”

“You may remain longer, should you choose to. I shall pay you no mind.” Though a mortal may have taken offense to such inattentive words, to an Imugi, the Dragon granted him benevolence of great magnitude. “But I did not mean ‘Hong Seongryo’ when I had asked.”

“Pardon?”

It did not elaborate further. True to its reputation, the Great Dragon of Water was a Dragon of few words. It resumed its lofty gaze upon Gensokyo, turning its attention away from the Imugi. As for the serpent, who felt more like a yard-dragon, he dipped his head in respect as he passed by his superior.

In that moment, the Imugi felt particularly courageous, deciding to reply once more. “I do not regret coming here.”

Though the Dragon of Gensokyo did not turn to acknowledge the serpent by face, it dignified him with a response. “Then all is well,” it said.

He found himself standing before the mod

I was wondering when this one would continue. I'll have to re-read it yet again to fully remember, but I guess that isn't the worst thing in the world. Been enjoying it thus far, so keep it up.

also, echo-dog when

I'd wager that Seoyu has awakened some part of her kitsune heritage now her mother's spirit has finally passed on.

>>211465
Awoo has at least had three updates in the past year. Poor Kyouko has had one update in the past two years! This injustice must be righted!

The Curse writhes, its barely distinguishable face contorting in baneful agony.

“No,” it says. “The sacrifices that I have made, the evils that I have felled—they were all for you… for us. I have made the darkness my own so that none could harm us. I have never wished to become what I am now… and yet, that was the only path forward. To preserve us.”

“There is no us,” you hiss. “We are not equals, nor will we ever be. Since my conception, you’ve used me as nothing more than a tool. Then, as you scurried away, you had deserted me just as you had deserted my priestess. I had naught but the curses I’ve inherited from you. But in your last waking moments, you had placed the greatest curse on me thus far: To become Hakurō.”

“The mantle you adopted had led us to this point: You, our priestess, and I have all reunited. And I have suffered as you have—am I not also You?”

“No. You are not. And by Amatsu’s will, we are no longer bound to each other.”

You manifest an item in your fist—it should be a familiar sight to Roku, though it is now merely a remnant of what it once was. You reveal a crushed talisman as you open your palm. Within its charm is now sediment, thanks to the assistance of the Hakurei Miko. To think that such a delicate piece would house the bond between three murderous deities and the ties between them. But all it takes to sever those ties are the hands of one mortal shrine maiden.

Even between the darkness that scarred Roku’s face, his expression displays an emotion that you are well acquainted with: fear.

“You understand now. Without Amatsu, you are nothing. You are merely a forgotten god. No, rather, you are but a crude beast. And I, Hakurou, am the embodiment of worldly hatred and vengeance. Because that was what you have made me. And for what purpose? To selfishly imprison the soul of my priestess and corrupt those consumed in the Maw, turning the innocent into the cursed? Amatsu may have once been the harbinger of chaos, but I know no truer evil than you. Yet, in your thirst to eternally

And then what happened, Author...?

Quick doodle I did at the office. Sketched it in paper and then I tried getting it into a post-it but the former is rough and the latter turned out wonky. Anyways, I liked the rough one so I'll be posting both. This is the first time I did a sketch before the post-it and it turned horrible lol.

I hate this pen, I miss my old one :'(

>>213059

maybe it's not the best art as you said but I still like it, especially because it's mom Ran with Kosuzu just being happy

Next thread is up! Let's see what's for sale now, shall we?

>>213061

>>212757
Mima

gimme Mima.

Im here for Mima

Karmanations everyday.

>>212744
Metaphor Re:Fantazio. I just finished up the main quest on the island. There was a small, tiny, blink-and-you-miss it reference to Etrian Odyssey in that part, which I really liked.

Anyway, the next thread is up! Onwards, to the next thread! >>212766

[X] Just get his attention, so the girl could get away while he was distracted. Throw some taunts at him, and then run for the hills.

Taunting? That sounds like Marisa.
This is also the less likely for us to get busted. Throwing rocks could probably pull more attention on us.

Really looking forward to the Marisa vote! It'll be the first one I can actually participate in as I only got into this fic during this arc...

Kosuzu took a slow, deep breath, trying to reason it out.

“If… if I did choose to be just a Motoori again -”

“We would both still be planning to tutor you,” Yukari responded. “Your first few lessons would differ, but we will teach you everything we could, of course.”

Ran nodded in firm agreement. “We want you to be the strongest you can be, Kosuzu. Anything we can do to help you, we will.”

The young kitsune looked between the two of them. She took a deep breath, asking just one question.

“You… think it’s better for me to hide, don’t you?”

Yukari knelt down. “We think it will be safer for you. Perhaps, in the fullness of time-”

“I… I never minded the thought of becoming a youkai, in my past life. Perhaps I was too curious for my own good.” Kosuzu stepped forward. “And I know that it was stupid, and reckless… but I still wasn’t afraid.”

She sighed. “But… once I actually became a youkai, I’ve been nothing but afraid. Running away from things. Trying to hide when I was hurting. Letting Tsukasa walk all over me.”

“I know… I know it’s safer, and probably less stressful for everyone if I go back to my old family,” Kosuzu admitted. She put her hand to her chest. “And I know that if I stay with them only, I’ll still be able to grow in skill. But…”

She clutched at her chest, looking up at Ran and Yukari. “But hiding away is what a kuda-gitsune does. And I’m not a tube fox - I’m a kitsune.”

She focused. “Me and my friends - we’re going to be fighting to protect the world. I can’t just run and hide away from my problems. I need to face them head-on. I need to get stronger, I need to be braver. So… I’m not going to just claim I’m some stray fox. I’m keeping both of my families.”

For a long moment, neither of the elder youkai spoke. Kosuzu’s resolve started to falter, as Yukari seemed to mull it over.

“You’re certain of this?” Ran asked, one final time. Kosuzu… nodded, firmly.

After a long, long moment… the sage shrugged, a grin slipping out from behind her veneer of professionalism. “Ah well, we tried

Thank you for this perfect ending. Kosuzu’s thought process got called pretty quickly, but it still feels so impactful because she chose, in the end.